A review by lynseyisreading
The Sea of Tranquility by Katja Millay
4.0
Worthy of the hoopla.
This was one of those Indie books that seemingly popped up out of nowhere last year and quickly earned a name for itself among the die-hard book hounds of the blogging/reviewing community. I kinda missed the party at the time (I was washing my hair), but when I saw it had gotten picked up by Simon & Schuster/Atria and it appeared on Netgalley, I couldn't resist any longer. So I grabbed it and figured I'd have my own dang party all by myself. I'd call it the Day Late and Dollar Short Ball. It would have ice cream.
Except I wasn't by myself, was I? I was with Josh Bennett.
Yes :D
So very yes.
I loved so many things about this book other than Josh, though he was the cherry on top of my ice cream. I loved the alternating POV chapters. I loved Josh. I loved reading about Nastya, without necessarily ever loving Nastya as a character. I loved Josh. I loved the dialogue, the sweet, romantic moments, the really fleshed-out secondary characters like Drew (who ended up being so much more than I'd thought he'd be). And Josh. Don't forget Josh.
The trend for this new wash of New Adult books seems to be to throw two completely messed up young people together and watch the disaster unfold between your fingers until they get so low, the only possible way is up. Usually by crawling there on their hands and knees. In THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY, the characters were certainly troubled; worryingly so. But instead of being angry and dark and all hatey, they both seemed to be punishing themselves more than anything. Nastya in all the bizarre ways Nastya did (more on her in a minute), and Josh by making himself more alone than he needed to be. Their separate issues were interesting, and together, they made this weird kind of sense as long as you didn't stare too closely.
Now Nastya... I've got to admit she annoyed me occasionally. The clothes thing? Hmm, not sure I ever really understood the logic there. It was like, "People are going to look at me anyway so why not give them something to look at by dressing like goth Barbie?". I just didn't geddit. Sorry.
And even my lovely Josh annoyed me once or twice. He might have been the saner of the two, but he wasn't perfect. And he was a very, very naughty boy at one point which, I admit, kinda made me a bit disappointed in him.
But, when all's said and done in this genre that can be really hit or miss, THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY was a hit for me, and I'd definitely read this author again.
4 Josh-shaped stars!
★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
This was one of those Indie books that seemingly popped up out of nowhere last year and quickly earned a name for itself among the die-hard book hounds of the blogging/reviewing community. I kinda missed the party at the time (I was washing my hair), but when I saw it had gotten picked up by Simon & Schuster/Atria and it appeared on Netgalley, I couldn't resist any longer. So I grabbed it and figured I'd have my own dang party all by myself. I'd call it the Day Late and Dollar Short Ball. It would have ice cream.
Except I wasn't by myself, was I? I was with Josh Bennett.
Yes :D
So very yes.
I loved so many things about this book other than Josh, though he was the cherry on top of my ice cream. I loved the alternating POV chapters. I loved Josh. I loved reading about Nastya, without necessarily ever loving Nastya as a character. I loved Josh. I loved the dialogue, the sweet, romantic moments, the really fleshed-out secondary characters like Drew (who ended up being so much more than I'd thought he'd be). And Josh. Don't forget Josh.
The trend for this new wash of New Adult books seems to be to throw two completely messed up young people together and watch the disaster unfold between your fingers until they get so low, the only possible way is up. Usually by crawling there on their hands and knees. In THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY, the characters were certainly troubled; worryingly so. But instead of being angry and dark and all hatey, they both seemed to be punishing themselves more than anything. Nastya in all the bizarre ways Nastya did (more on her in a minute), and Josh by making himself more alone than he needed to be. Their separate issues were interesting, and together, they made this weird kind of sense as long as you didn't stare too closely.
Now Nastya... I've got to admit she annoyed me occasionally. The clothes thing? Hmm, not sure I ever really understood the logic there. It was like, "People are going to look at me anyway so why not give them something to look at by dressing like goth Barbie?". I just didn't geddit. Sorry.
And even my lovely Josh annoyed me once or twice. He might have been the saner of the two, but he wasn't perfect. And he was a very, very naughty boy at one point which, I admit, kinda made me a bit disappointed in him.
But, when all's said and done in this genre that can be really hit or miss, THE SEA OF TRANQUILITY was a hit for me, and I'd definitely read this author again.
4 Josh-shaped stars!
★★★★
ARC provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.